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Fernando G. S. L. Brandao

Publications and source records attributed to Fernando G. S. L. Brandao.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2008

Entanglement Theory and the Quantum Simulation of Many-Body Physics

In this thesis we present new results relevant to two important problems in quantum information science: the development of a theory of entanglement and the exploration of the use of controlled quantum systems to the simulation of quantum many-body phenomena. In the first part we introduce a new approach to the study of entanglement by considering its manipulation under operations not capable of generating entanglement and show there is a total order for multipartite quantum states in this framework. We also present new results on hypothesis testing of correlated sources and give further evidence on the existence of NPPT bound entanglement. In the second part, we study the potential as well as the limitations of a quantum computer for calculating properties of many-body systems. First we analyse the usefulness of quantum computation to calculate additive approximations to partition functions and spectral densities of local Hamiltonians. We then show that the determination of ground state energies of local Hamiltonians with an inverse polynomial spectral gap is QCMA-hard. In the third and last part, we approach the problem of quantum simulating many-body systems from a more pragmatic point of view. We analyze the realization of paradigmatic condensed matter Hamiltonians in arrays of coupled microcavities, such as the Bose-Hubbard and the anisotropic Heisenberg models, and discuss the feasibility of an experimental realization with state-of-the-art current technology.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2008

Entanglement Theory and the Second Law of Thermodynamics

Entanglement is central both to the foundations of quantum theory and, as a novel resource, to quantum information science. The theory of entanglement establishes basic laws, such as the non-increase of entanglement under local operations, that govern its manipulation and aims to draw from them formal analogies to the second law of thermodynamics. However, while in the second law the entropy uniquely determines whether a state is adiabatically accessible from another, the manipulation of entanglement under local operations exhibits a fundamental irreversibility which prevents the existence of such an order. Here we show that a reversible theory of entanglement and a rigorous relationship with thermodynamics may be established when one considers all non-entangling transformations. The role of the entropy in the second law is taken by the asymptotic relative entropy of entanglement in the basic law of entanglement. We show the usefulness of this new approach to general resource theories and to quantum information theory.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2008

Quantum Many-Body Phenomena in Coupled Cavity Arrays

The increasing level of experimental control over atomic and optical systems gained in the past years have paved the way for the exploration of new physical regimes in quantum optics and atomic physics, characterised by the appearance of quantum many-body phenomena, originally encountered only in condensed-matter physics, and the possibility of experimentally accessing them in a more controlled manner. In this review article we survey recent theoretical studies concerning the use of cavity quantum electrodynamics to create quantum many-body systems. Based on recent experimental progress in the fabrication of arrays of interacting micro-cavities and on their coupling to atomic-like structures in several different physical architectures, we review proposals on the realisation of paradigmatic many-body models in such systems, such as the Bose-Hubbard and the anisotropic Heisenberg models. Such arrays of coupled cavities offer interesting properties as simulators of quantum many-body physics, including the full addressability of individual sites and the accessibility of inhomogeneous models.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

Entanglement activation and the robustness of quantum correlations

We show that the usefulness of a state as an activator in teleportation protocols is equivalent to the robustness of its entanglement to noise. The robustness of entanglement of a bi-partite state is linked to the maximum increase in the the fidelity of teleportation of any other state when the former is used as an extra resource. On the one hand, this connection gives an operational meaning to the robustness of entanglement. On the other hand, it shows that the activation capability - which has a central role as an operational way of quantifying bound entangled states - can be estimated experimentally by measuring entanglement witnesses.

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arXiv2007

A polaritonic two-component Bose-Hubbard model

We show that polaritons in an array of interacting micro-cavities with strong atom-photon coupling can form a two-component Bose-Hubbard model. Both polariton species are thereby protected against spontaneous emission as their atomic part is stored in two ground states of the atoms. The parameters of the effective model can be tuned via the driving strength of external lasers. We also describe a method to measure the number statistics in one cavity for each polariton species independently.

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arXiv2007

Light-shift-induced photonic nonlinearities

We propose a new method to produce self- and cross-Kerr photonic nonlinearities, using light-induced Stark shifts due to the interaction of a cavity mode with atoms. The proposed experimental set-up is considerably simpler than in previous approaches, while the strength of the nonlinearity obtained with a single atom is the same as in the setting based on electromagnetically induced transparency. Furthermore our scheme can be applied to engineer effective photonic nonlinear interactions whose strength increases with the number of atoms coupled to the cavity mode, leading to photon-photon interactions several orders of magnitude larger than previously considered possible.

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arXiv2007

Effective spin systems in coupled micro-cavities

We show that atoms trapped in micro-cavities that interact via exchange of virtual photons can model an anisotropic Heisenberg spin-1/2 chain in an external magnetic field. All parameters of the effective Hamiltonian can individually be tuned via external lasers. Since the occupation of excited atomic levels and photonic states are strongly suppressed, the effective model is robust against decoherence mechanisms, has a long lifetime and its implementation is feasible with current experimental technology. The model provides a feasible way to create cluster states in these devices.

quant-ph↗
arXiv2007

Quantum phase transitions with Photons and Polaritons

We show that a system of polaritons - combined atom and photon excitations - in an array of coupled cavities, under an experimental set-up usually considered in electromagnetically induced transparency, is described by the Bose-Hubbard model. This opens up the possibility of using this system as a quantum simulator, allowing for the observation of quantum phase transitions and for the measurement of local properties, such as single site observables. All the basic building blocks of the proposed setting have already been achieved experimentally, showing the feasibility of its realization in the near future.

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arXiv2006

Strongly Interacting Polaritons in Coupled Arrays of Cavities

The experimental observation of quantum phenomena in strongly correlated many particle systems is difficult because of the short length- and timescales involved. Obtaining at the same time detailed control of individual constituents appears even more challenging and thus to date inhibits employing such systems as quantum computing devices. Substantial progress to overcome these problems has been achieved with cold atoms in optical lattices, where a detailed control of collective properties is feasible but it is very difficult to address and hence control or measure individual sites. Here we show, that polaritons, combined atom and photon excitations, in an array of cavities such as a photonic crystal or coupled toroidal micro-cavities, can form a strongly interacting many body system, where individual particles can be controlled and measured. All individual building blocks of the proposed setting have already been experimentally realised, thus demonstrating the potential of this device as a quantum simulator. With the possibility to create attractive on-site potentials the scheme allows for the creation of highly entangled states and a phase with particles much more delocalised than in superfluids.

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arXiv2006

Witnessed Entanglement

We present a new measure of entanglement for mixed states. It can be approximately computable for every state and can be used to quantify all different types of multipartite entanglement. We show that it satisfies the usual properties of a good entanglement quantifier and derive relations between it and other entanglement measures.

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arXiv2005

Geometric Phase Transition: direct measurement of a mathematical abstraction

By viewing entanglement as a state function, a new kind of phase transition takes place: the geometric phase transition. This phenomenon occurs due to singularities in the shape of the entangled states set. It is shown how this result can be carried to provide a better understanding of the geometry of entanglement. Surprisingly, this study can be done experimentally, what allows to determine the shape of different entangled states sets, a purely mathematical definition, in real experiments.

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